The One O'Clock Stomp

Here's one for current professionals, budding professionals, and professionals who have long since gone to seed. A wonderful product that will stop you from killing someone. You're doing an event - a school ball, a corporate dinner, a ceremony...even, Heaven permitting...a wedding. And you have discovered that people will pay good money to you if you make their couple portraits look good. Even if they don't actually help you by dressing or behaving well. You don't want to haul an entire A/C studio strobe light setup with you to do it...but you've got some speed lights and radio triggers that you use for the more active parts of the event coverage. So you grab one studio stand, one light and trigger, and one of the Lastolite Ezybox softboxes - in this case we suggest that you select the 54 cm x 54 cm model. It comes ready to go - the box structure, the front diffuser panel, and the bracket that acts as the attachment to the studio stand all fit in the blue carry case. That's a Little Studio coffee cup to give you relative size. It's not a giant hauling job to get it to the venue or home again. Okay - unfold the box, velcro on the diffuser to keep it square, and pop the bracket into the back of it. It is sturdy enough to hold up all by itself. Onto the light stand with the regular spigot. And at 54 cm x 54 cm it is big enough to be a real softbox - not a compromise. You can make the gnarliest sitter look good. The real blessing is at the end of the evening. That point at 1:00 AM when the band has quit in disgust and the last of the relatives are being pushed out the door. No-one wants to be the pro sitting there packing, folding, dismantling, etc for the next hour - it's 1:00 AM for crying out loud. The Lastolite Exybox just pops off the bracket, the bracket slips in two pieces, and you can fold the thing up like an arthritic butterfly and be outta the place. If you are fortunate you will be all packed up before the bride's brother-in-law comes up and asks if it's too late for a family group. They may yell it after you as you run up the street, but just keep going...